Ambitions
by raisedfistsurvivor
Summary: Lin, Tenzin, Jinora and Korra has to cooperate, resulting in an adventure. Linzin friendship. Might develop into romance. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm here with a new story for you! "Let me hold you one last time" is still in progress, but I felt that this story didn't fit in there. The main focus is going to be Lin and Tenzin, with Jinora and Korra tagging along. I can't promise there will be romance in store for my OTP, but who knows? Enjoy! And please **review**!

_I do not own AtLA or LoK!_

* * *

Korra took a deep breath, trying to calm her heart that was hammering away in her chest. _I'm the _Avatar, _not a prissy, lily-livered girl. _With this encouraging thought in mind, she steeled herself and raised her hand, curling her fingers into a fist, hesitantly keeping it still a few centimeters above the surface of the thick metal door that was covered with the golden Chief of Police insignia on it.

"_Are you going to stand out there all day, Avatar?" _

Korra jumped in surprise when she heard the voice coming from behind the door, and a blush painted her cheeks. The door muffled the tone in which the words were spoken, but she knew by well learned experience that it probably was impatient. As she cleared her throat, she heard the door become unlocked, most certainly manipulated with an easy, graceful flick of a finger by the Chief inside the room.

She pulled the heavy door open, her gaze scanning the room with curiosity. She'd never been in this famous space, and it disappointed her a little, to be honest. The walls were clad in grey metal, just like the interrogation room she'd been brought to on her first day in Republic City, but it had more furnishing. The room was built as a rectangle, about 20 square meters big in total. The door was placed in the middle of a wall. To the left bookcases, surprisingly made of a dark wood, maybe mahogany, covered the wall from roof to floor, and the shelves were partly filled with metal boxes containing important documents, partly filled with books, new and old. The rest of it was filled with other various items; like an Equalist glove, a reel with a metal cable, a small bag made of a rough, solid black fabric Korra didn't recognize, ancient earthbending scrolls and photos, framed of course.

The wall right in front of her was home to a painting of who she presumed was the last Chief of Police, Toph Beifong, as she had never seen a picture of the woman before. Milky, barely green, eyes stared off into the distance, making her turn her head to see what the eyes were looking at, but found nothing. She rolled her eyes at herself. She knew Toph had been blind. An amused snort reached her ears, but she was too preoccupied taking in the rest of the room to be interrupted by it, despite her disappointed expectations.

To the left of the painting a glass case protected a long, dark grey sword. Snoopy, she crossed the short distance to look at it closer, ransacking her brain, trying to recognize the material it was made of. A puzzled look appeared on her face as she dismissed yet another option from her mental list. _It's not made of stone, it's not made of iron or bronze, it's not made of platinum because it's color is too light, and it's not made of aluminum because that wouldn't be solid enough to fight with. But what is it then?_

Turning her head to the right, her mouth hanging open, prepared to speak, a grey haired Chief scribbled on some papers, concentrated, reading glasses on the tip of her nose. Though she rarely went on dangerous missions anymore, she wore her armor, her hair in its usual style. The huge desk, entirely, and boringly, made out of metal, but with intricate patterns of earthbending symbols on the legs, were almost as intimidating as the person inhabiting the chair behind it. From the entrance of the room, the first thing you would see was this desk, probably with Lin Beifong behind it. _I wouldn't want to be an officer beneath Lin, _Korra thought, and almost shuddered. The woman was… Challenging, just like Tenzin had described her.

A sigh, and then the sound of a pencil moving against paper stopped.

"What is it?" Lin said with her gruff voice, just a tiny hint of annoyance seeping through.

She had, like Korra guessed, stopped writing, and now looked up at the Avatar over her glasses.

"What material is this sword made of? I can't figure it out." She asked, ignoring the instinct that said she probably wasn't welcome at the moment, and pointed at the sword.

"A meteorite." Lin huffed, and continued with whatever it was she was doing.

_A meteorite? Isn't that like, a stone from space or something? _She turned her eyes back to the sword, taking in its sharp features and edges. It really looked _sharp, _and hard; unbreakable. _Almost like Lin… _But Korra new that wasn't true; Lin wasn't unbreakable. She'd seen her at her weakest in the South Pole, but it hadn't made her doubt the Chief; it had only made the respect and awe grow stronger.

"Is it yours?"

Lin looked up from her documents once again, pursing her lips, nurturing her patience carefully as she tried not to snap.

Korra smiled apologetically and shrugged her shoulders. She was curios by nature, she couldn't help it.

"It belonged to someone very dear to me." She simply said after a minute of silence, leaving unspoken words hanging in the air between them. '_I'm not saying one more word.'_

Korra tried not to look disappointed; to no avail unfortunately. One of the best things she knew was storytelling. She could listen to Katara for hours. She was the only one left of the Gaang, beside Lin and Tenzin, but both of the two were very parsimonious and private with details, reluctant to talk about history, for some reason Korra didn't know.

"Was that the reason you came here?" Lin asked suddenly, shaking Korra out of her thoughts. "You wanted to see my office?"

An almost invisible, amused smile tugged at the corners of Lin's lips and her eyes twinkled with mischief. Korra smiled black, a little shocked; Lin looked so… young, when she smiled. The shock however only lingered for a few seconds, and nervousness took its place. The Chief had hit a tender spot horrifyingly fast; she hadn't come here to see the room.

"No." She shook her head for emphasis. "I wanted to ask you if you could help me with my earthbending, and maybe… Help me learn metalbending?"

Korra flashed a pleading, encouraging smile. _Please, please, please! _Puppy eyes.

Lin's face betrayed nothing as she tried to come up with something to say to dismiss Korra's idea; not even her very direct gaze faltered, until she answered.

"You have already mastered earthbending under Lao-Han." She pointed out.

Korra pouted, but refused to give up. She had already prepared well based arguments for her cause, knowing that Lin would never agree before a little convincing. The woman was the most stubborn person Korra had ever met, and she was smart, which didn't help at all.

"But you're the best earthbender in the world! And there is still a lot for me to learn, I'm not perfect!" She said, quite loud, her voice fueled by the intensity in her emotions that agreed with her words and logic conviction.

Lin stared at the young Avatar before her, her mask painted by disapproval and unwillingness. She was apparently not stricken by excitement at the thought of learning Korra the _right _way of earthbending, seeing as Korra was both hard-headed, though, strong, unyielding _and _had quite a temper, just like herself when she was young, according to Tenzin. Korra tapped her foot nervously on the floor.

"Please?" she begged.

Lin scowled, a tired groan slipping past her lips.

"What does Tenzin say about this? Last I heard anything about it, you hadn't mastered airbending yet."

Korra tensed. She really hadn't mastered airbending yet. The Beifong looked triumphant as no answer left the Avatar's mouth. _I have to get away from Air Temple Island for a while, I can't give up now! _She tried to muster as much courage and assurance she could before speaking again.

"He said it was fine, and I_ need_ a break! All that spiritual crap is boring me to death and I have to meditate _twice a day!_" she exclaimed loudly, plopping down on the chair in front of the desk, all air leaving her lungs, and she sank together in a heap, hoping that her obvious, hopeless and tired demeanor would convince the Chief. Surely she had to be able to relate to Korra on some level?

Korra's eyes almost bulged out of her skull as Lin started laughing, shaking her head in amusement. _The Chief can laugh? Wow, I must be a really good actor._

"Fine!" Lin said after her laughter had died down, a stern look appearing from out of nowhere, her professional mentality kicking in. "But if we're going to do this, there's going to be orders to follow, understood?"

Korra nodded approvingly and sat up straighter in her chair, keeping quiet.

"First rule; you don't give up, you don't quit, you don't walk out on me, you trust me. No matter what happens, no matter what I tell you to do, you do it." Lin paused, making sure that the message sunk in properly. "Second, you're going to ditch your Water Tribe gear, and shoes. Third, if I hear you complain as much as _once _about how early I force you to get up, I'll earthbend you into Yue Bay."

"Yes Chief!" Korra smiled and fisted pumped in victory, jumping out of her chair. "When are we going to begin?"

"When you have talked to the Airhead." Lin smirked, starting to rearrange her papers in different piles.

Korra's face fell, her mouth hanging open until she pouted in defeat. _How in Spirits' sake does she do that? _

"I can always tell when someone's lying, Avatar." Lin said, scaring Korra half to death.

_Can she read minds too?_

"Many people seem to forget that seismic sense comes with a natural lying detector." Lin continued.

Korra could hear the amusement and sarcasm, but beneath it all, it didn't sound like the Chief enjoyed the ability particularly much. _I can totally get that, though. People probably lie right up in her face all the time and she can always tell when they do. That has to hurt; knowing exactly how much you're being lied to._

Korra didn't know how to respond to that, so she just moved to the door and was one her way out when Lin's voice interrupted her.

"And… Avatar?"

"Yes?" Korra said and turned around to look at the woman.

"You won't get away that easily. Meditating is a crucial part of metalbending and seismic sense."

Korra just gaped. _Oh Spirits'. What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

"Pema, could you pass the teapot please?" Tenzin asked; formal, calm. Like always, in other words.

Pema looked up from the angry, fuzzing one year old in her arms to glare at her husband.

"I'm a little busy right now _dear_. Ikki, could you please hand your father the tea?"

Tenzin looked to the right at his youngest daughter who was deeply involved in playing with her food and hadn't heard the question. Jinora however, had heard and looked up from the book she'd discretely hidden in her lap. She leaned forward, prepared to pick it up before changing her mind and leaning back, her spine straight, stiff, proud; and sent a small air current to whirl around the hot pot, moving it towards Tenzin's cup, tilting it forward to let the tea pour down. When the cup was full, the pot was softly lowered to rest on the table once more. A small smile played hesitantly on her lips.

"Jinora, _no airbending at the dinner table!_" Pema shouted, irritated and tired. Rohan's cries grew and his shrieking had Meelo clasp his hands over his ears to escape the sound.

"Maybe you should try to calm him down in his crib." Tenzin suggested, and Pema looked up from the child with a sour expression.

"I'll take care of this, go." He told her, and the sign of doubt and anger was erased from her face.

She stood up, trying not to upset Rohan more and planted a kiss on the crown of Tenzin's head before leaving the room, taking the terrible crying with her, leaving the dining room in calm silence. Only the scraping of Meelo's fork against the plate, Ikki's playing with her food and Jinora flipping page in her book, filled the room.

Tenzin cleared his throat and sipped on his tea. _Jinora is 11 now, and very skilled in airbending. She's ready to see all the Air Temples. It's time for her to start finish her training. The trip would be a great way for her to focus solemnly on airbending for a while, experience her culture, and when we come back, she can have her own Skybison. This is also a good time for me to get away; the City is under control, the United Forces are stationed here for another two months and Lin is back as Chief; the Council can do without me for the time I'll be away. If necessary, Acolyte Ji can take my place during that time. _

Clearing his throat once more and placing his cup on the table, he called for Jinora's attention.

"Jinora?"

She looked up from her book, a little disoriented for a second when her environment suddenly changed from whatever it was she was reading to the dining room in her home.

"Yes Dad?" she asked politely.

"I have some news for you." he said before pausing, and curiosity played in Jinora's eyes. "I believe that you are old, mature and skilled enough for a journey, the same one my father took me on when I was your age." Tenzin explained and smiled.

At first the young girl looked puzzled, but when she realized what her father in fact had proposed, she shot up unexpectedly from her cushion, her book falling to the floor, and ran around the table to throw herself in Tenzin's arms, giving him a big hug.

"Really? I would love that!" she said loudly, causing her younger siblings to be shook out of their reveries.

"Yes, I really do."

"What is happening? Why are you so happy Jinora? Daddy is she getting a present and we don't? Where's mommy?" Ikki asked quickly.

Tenzin tried to suppress his groan and Jinora rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Mom is with Rohan, and I'm finally going to see all the Air Temples!"

"What? But that's not fair! Daddy I want to come too! Why does Jinora get to go? Is it because she's better than me at airbending? When are you leaving? Are you taking Oogi?"

As Jinora kept her patience with ease, Tenzin noticed Meelo, who had fallen asleep ungracefully on his plate with half eaten food on it. He shook his head as the girls babbling and arguing continued, standing up and walking over to Meelo, picking him up carefully to place him in his bed.

* * *

When Tenzin had put Meelo to sleep, Korra had showed up, begging him to let Lin train her. After a heated argument that resulted in Korra leaving the island altogether, Tenzin was furious. He had to call Lin, but decided to wait until morning.

Now he sat with the phone in his hands, taking a long, calming breath before dialing her number.

_"Chief Beifong." _A stern voice answered. Sounds of rustling paper could be heard.

"Lin." Tenzin greeted. "How are you?"

"_I'm very busy at the moment, spit it out!"_

_Like always, _Tenzin thought darkly, clearly imagining her telephone cradled between her scarred cheek and her shoulder sloppily while keeping her hands busy with documents. Multitasking, she'd always had a talent for it.

"I need to ask you something, but first, could you please stop doing whatever it is that you're doing with the papers?"

An irritated growl, and then it became quiet before he could hear her lift the phone up properly.

"_What?" _she hissed.

"Did you agree to train Korra in metalbending?"

_"Tenzin, I'm about to capture the leader of the Agni Kais' and you're asking me if I promised the Avatar to train her!?" _she barked.

"Well, yes. Because it's important, she hasn't finished her airbending training yet! Now, did you or did you not?"

_"Yes!" _She huffed impatiently. "_Tenzin, I really need to go." _

"Why would you- Fine, can you come over for dinner tonight? We need to talk about this!" he said, irritation coloring his voice.

"_Tomorrow." _And then the connection was broken.

* * *

"Again." He ordered Korra. "This time, don't fight back."

Korra growled like a polar bear dog, panting, sweat beading on her forehead, making a few strands of hair that had escaped cling to her skin. She had a burning anger in her eyes. They'd been going at it for almost an hour, and she was close to perfecting it.

Sparring, Tenzin judged, was a good way to train Korra, just like probending had helped her in the beginning, with the spiral movements and the air gate. In the beginning he'd been a little bit rusty, but with every move his muscles had become softer, allowing him to _flow _more easily, directing blasts of air again and again at Korra who avoided them until her temper forced her to become offensive.

This particular day the sun was setting and the summer heat made the air heavy and hard to breathe. Korra was barefoot, wore pants that ended at her knees and her regular tank top without sleeves. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and she had a dark bruise on her jaw. A few days earlier she'd lost a match against Jinora, Ikki and Meelo. Three airbending opponents had just been too much when she weren't allowed to use her other bending.

Tenzin had unceremoniously dumped his warm robes on a bench near the training area when they had become sticky with perspiration; his muscular chest bare and the blue arrows leaving no doubt of whom he was. Korra had grinned when he'd pulled them over his head, teasing him mercilessly before he'd barked at her to focus.

Before he could send a gust of air to start yet another round of sparring, someone appeared in the corner of his eye. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he turned and watched as Lin came marching towards the training grounds, she too panting after the steep climb of stairs in the heat. A second later he realized that she _wore her armor, _the idiot. Now, Tenzin rarely used such words, but this was one of the few times he just had to; he didn't know how to explain how he felt when he saw her in that moment without some kind of inappropriate language. It really was stupid a day like this, she might be the Chief but she wasn't unaffected by the temperature or the lack of intake of water. How many times had she come home on blazing summer days with a sunstroke? He was almost entirely sure that she would be swaying unsteadily on her feet in less than half an hour due to the lack of liquid in her body.

When she stopped in front of them, he could see the signs clearly on her face. Her eyes were tired, the sweat was glued to her skin and her cheeks were red. She didn't even bother saying '_Hello_' before she plopped down on the bench next to Tenzin's robes, bending off her uniform and caring little as it landed on the dry ground, dust rising around it. Leaning forward, her elbows on her knees and head resting in her palms, she stared at her feet, her shoulders rising in a steady rhythm, the only indication that she was still alive. He noticed two blue and purple fingertips peeking out from a bandage on her left hand, but other than that she seemed fine beside a bruise on the jaw.

He sighed loudly.

"Korra, please go fetch a big bowl of water and a glass. You have some healing to do."

"I'm fine!" Lin groaned and waved a hand in a suggestive direction, probably meant to reassure Tenzin.

Korra bit her lower lip and her eyes shot back at Tenzin. He gave her a stern look and a nod, and she took off.

Shaking his head at the familiar sensation and situation, he walked up to Lin who still was hunched over. He gripped her wrists and murmured softly:

"Can you stand up, Lin?"

She didn't answer but the small movement of her head told him she was willing to try. She gave him her hands and he supported her as she stood up. As he suspected, her knees buckled as soon as she was standing upright, and he caught her unconscious body without difficulty, lifting her up bridal style. Her head resting on his left shoulder, he started to walk towards his house on the island.

* * *

**A/N: **So! What did you guys think? I'll update as soon as I can, I'm working on the Linzin Week prompts while trying to keep both this story and my other one alive! Hard work! ;) Linzin Week is going to be held 9-15th of June, and the prompts are: Seasons, Drive, Battle, Phone-call, Drunk, Dreams and Secrets! In that order!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Apologies for taking so long to update. And apologies for making this chapter much shorter than intended.

* * *

In the darkness, everything was spinning. It wasn't until she could feel something that felt like lips press against her forehead, that she really started to awaken. Warm fingers caressed her cheek softly and something deliciously cold was placed on top of her head. She could feel her hair itch the skin on her neck, which meant someone had pulled the pins out. She wasn't on the ground, or the bench she could faintly recall she'd been sitting on before losing consciousness; it was soft beneath her. She must be lying on a bed.

When Lin opened her eyes, Tenzin sat beside her with a bowl of water in his lap, changing the wet cloth on her forehead occasionally.

She opened her mouth to speak and tried sitting up, but he shook his head and forced her down with a hand on her shoulder before handing her a glass of water. She sat up again, slowly this time, her lips dry, her mouth feeling like a desert. She took the glass from Tenzin's outstretched hand and gulped the coolness down.

Coming back with a tiny gasp of air, she placed the glass on the nightstand beside the bed and fell back against the pillows, waves of fatigue pulsing in her body.

Tenzin placed a new cloth on her forehead quietly and she flashed him a small, grateful smile. She knew he was going to give her a lecture any second, but she was grateful he took care of her this way. Tenzin's appearance softened at her smile.

"Do I even need to tell you how stupid and careless you are sometimes, Lin?" he asked her then and she pouted stubbornly, unable to be angry at him, feeling completely as ease.

"I'm a grown woman." She muttered and Tenzin sighed, putting the bowl away on a dresser behind his chair.

The room was small and had wooden walls and floor. The only furnishing was a closet, the dresser, the nightstand and the bed, except the chair Tenzin was sitting on. It was simple, to reflect the spiritual beliefs of the island. The Air Nomads didn't believe in material possession besides what was absolutely necessary. Above Lin's head the window was opened, and the soft yellow light in the room told her the sun was setting. She hadn't been out for too long.

"You may be your mother's daughter Lin, and Chief of Police, but neither you nor Toph are immortal. How much water and food have you consumed today?" Tenzin continued.

Lin pursed her lips in annoyance and looked away, crossing her bare arms over her chest. She stared at the scars littering her skin and started stroking one in particular with her right thumb. It was a nasty one, bulging, pink and jagged. She couldn't remember when she got it.

"I had a rough day. No time for eating." She huffed, rolling her eyes at herself; she sounded _so childish_, but just when Tenzin was about to reply, the door opened and Korra popped her head in.

"Are you alright Chief?" she asked, and actually looked a bit worried to Lin's surprise.

"Yes, I'm fine." she answered brusquely, instantly her cold and steely self, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, the thin sheet that had covered her falling to the side, exposing her _also bare legs_.

She sucked in a deep breath, and it only took a second for her to do the math. Processing, she shot an _absolutely_ _life-threatening _look at Tenzin, realizing that he must have been the one pulling her pants off, leaving her with only underwear and her white tank top on.

Tenzin gulped loudly and instantly looked terrified, confirming her suspicion, and Korra muttered '_Oh shit' _before shutting the door behind her quickly with a loud bang. Lin could hear the Avatar sprinting down the hallway.

If she in that moment had lashed out with a metal cable in the room, it would have sliced the tension hanging in the air, and left a red mark on Tenzin's cheek. But she was left with only her hands, and she refused to give him the satisfaction to see her stand up in minimal clothing, her figure just as gorgeous, if not more well-muscled, than she had been when she was 20 years younger.

Redirecting her gaze back to the trembling airbender that seemed to try and scramble together some sort of control over his emotions, she stayed in bed and roughly pulled the fabric over her lap to cover her thighs.

"You do realize that I could arrest you for sexual harassment!?" Lin hissed in her most intimidating, pissed off Chief-voice.

Tenzin lost all color in his face but regained his composure, a finished argument on the tip of his tongue.

"Don't be unreasonable Lin!" he argued loudly and stood up. "Those pants were too warm, and I've seen your legs millions of times!" he continued, gesturing towards the folded garment that lay on top of the dresser.

Lin laughed out loud, her eyes almost bulging out of her skull with bafflement.

"You're impossible! You had no right to do that without my consent!"

"Well then would you rather still be unconscious?" Tenzin fumed; face slowly turning red with annoyance at her stubbornness.

Lin opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Perhaps he _did_ have a point, but she was still angry at him. Ridiculously enough, it felt like he had passed some sort of secret boundary; he wasn't in the right place to see her undressed the way she was, friend or not, good intentions be damned.

"If you do it again, no matter what situation or condition I'm in, I swear on my little finger I'll drag your sorry ass to jail!" She grunted in defeat through gritted teeth.

"I will make no such promise!" Tenzin bravely snarled, and Lin gaped at him in disbelief. Few people, including Tenzin, had the guts to fight with her at this point in an argument.

She was just about to throw a legit tantrum, pants or no pants, and maybe slap him, when he howled:

"Let me explain for Spirits sake!" and she had to force herself to stay in bed, keeping quiet. Dealing with Destruction of Property caused by no other than herself of all people, was not appealing at the moment.

When Tenzin noticed she was silent, he sighed, obviously annoyed with her request and its apparent flaws.

"If we find ourselves in a situation where you get seriously injured, or I see fit that some of your clothing needs to be removed, I will _not _stick to that vow. _However, _if there is someone else that is available and well enough for the task, I'll ask them to do it, alright?" he finished with a groan, dragging a hand across his face, looking tired when he emerged again.

"Fine!" Lin growled. As much as she hated it, he was right, and maybe she wasn't prepared to die or lose a limb just because she didn't like the idea of him seeing her without fabric covering her.

Tenzin, that had paced anxiously in the room during their conversation, headed for the sliding doors to let her change in peace. He opened one of them slightly, but there paused looking back at Lin.

"We have some things to discuss, will you join me and the family for dinner?"

The first word that almost, _almost, _spilled from Lin's tongue was _'No!' _because she was so infuriated with him, but once again, he was right, they did need to talk about Korra's training, and she was hungry, so she gave him a nod, and with a look of relief at her self-restraint, he left.

* * *

Dinner had gone as smoothly as it could, Lin guessed. A hyper Meelo and Ikki, a fuzzing Rohan, an exhausted Pema and a no-show Jinora, along with Korra that tried to interfere with Lin and Tenzin's debate, had left the metalbender utterly fed-up with social interaction.

Feeling a warm breeze blow in her face, despite that it was in the middle of the night by now, she enjoyed the silence the ferryride provided her with. She was on her way home, not quite content yet with her upcoming trip, but too tired to muster any strong feelings towards it. After her, to say the least, _rough _day at work, arresting the leader of the Agni Kai Triad and passing out right in front of Tenzin, her body was sore and strung out, head pounding with pain.

During dinner, Tenzin had proposed an alternative after making his and his eldest daughter's plans clear, explaining Korra's airbending and spiritual progress, and that he wished her to join, for a number of educational reasons. Korra had immediately and vehemently refused, claiming that Lin could help her with the spiritual part, while simultaneously learning metalbending, and besides, Ikki and Meelo could teach her one or two things about airbending while they were away. Tenzin had kept his calm during her speech, but afterwards came up with exceptional arguments and reasons to why her idea was inadequate.

Lin offered little advice on the matter, as she would like nothing more than postpone Korra's training, or rather, not do it at all. She might be like an unmovable mountain when it came to most things in life, but be forceful and energetic enough to put the young, hot-headed Avatar in place, and learn her to bend metal, was somehow very unappealing.

It wasn't until Tenzin's suggestion that she opened her mouth, voice hinting of that dangerous sharpness that could cut through the strongest of will. By this moment, the children and Pema had left Korra, Lin and Tenzin to discuss in peace. Not that there was much peace nearby. With the children gone, and the trio passionately arguing for their cause, appropriate language seemed to even escape Tenzin once or twice.

While Korra easily accepted the idea of combining her air, metal and spiritual future, Lin had a hard time being comfortable with the idea of leaving her job and Republic City for a teenaged Avatar, her ex and his daughter on a worldwide trip to all the Air Temples.

Now, she hadn't seen all the temples, and had planned on traveling after her retirement; what she hadn't planned to was doing it _like this_. She'd planned to go _alone_. She had it all figured out perfectly; Gaoling, Kyoshi Island, Cave of Two Lovers, Ba Sing Se, the Royal Court of the Fire Nation, Ember Island and then the Southern Water tribe. If she could find a way, maybe she was going visit one or two of the temples, but now, she knew she'd see them all.

A heated argument took place, Lin defending herself against Korra and Tenzin's pleading without difficulty. After all, Toph and Sokka had been her parents. Arguing, and doing it _well_, had been a crucial part of survival in her upbringing.

In the end, they had all come to being as open to their agreement as possible.

Lin had negotiated like the pro she was with Tenzin who couldn't deny her demands, seeing as they were reasonable and wouldn't delay them much. Secretly he was grateful for those seven days Lin had required, because they would give him enough time to prepare the Council of his absence, time to prepare _himself _with _a lot _of meditating, and make a detailed plan for the following month, calculating how much money they would need and so on.

It had taken the group of three the entire evening to settle and agree, but finally they had managed.

They gave themselves one week to do what needed to be done. Lin would make sure that the Police Force was to be run smoothly while she was away, Tenzin would make sure that the Council wouldn't collapse and that his family would be taken care of, and also prepare Jinora, while Korra was going to just keep practicing and spend time with her friends.

Reaching the docks of Republic City, Lin was shook out of her thoughts and stepped of the boat, greeting the two Acolytes that had offered the transport. With tired smiles they opened a hatchway in the wooden deck that led to the undercroft. They would be spending the night there.

Making her way through the empty streets, her metalprotected feet left echoes in her wake, their clattering against the pavement somewhat loud in the seemingly dead metropolis. She only saw a few people on her nightly walk home, none of them seeming to be up to no good. She figured they were just on their way home from a lover or a bar or a very late shift at some factory. Other than that, not even the pigeonrats seemed to have recovered yet after the day's warmest heat wave recorded in the City's history.

After 15 minutes, Lin started nearing her quarters and despite her body protesting wildly, surges of burning fatigue gripping her muscles, she sped up her steps, eager to get home.


End file.
